On August 22nd, 2017, ESPN published a book called "Violated," which discusses the sexual assault scandals that circled Baylor University and college football in 2015-16. The book takes you step by step through the unfortunate events that occurred to the women involved, the trials, and the charges and changes that Baylor faced. If you’re looking for a book that slanders Coach Art Briles or the athletic department, that’s not this book. "Violated" includes the facts of the events that were brought up during the scandal.

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Being able to understand the severity of a difficult situation such as this one is very important, especially when it involves your school. When scandals like this first come out, it’s difficult to find the truth in the chaos and assumptions that encircle it. As a student at Baylor, this is exactly what I dealt with. How am I to know what happened when so many people are reporting, gossiping, and assuming things?

I was, of course, aware of the severity but not the details, which in today’s society is what we crave to know. After reading "Violated," I was definitely more informed. "Violated" gives great detail from the time the issues began to until after lawsuits were closed. It also dives into the past of Baylor, discussing the Title IX Department and how Baylor handled situations that were presented to them.

The book not only explains the situations going on at Baylor but also gives sufficient details of the issues of “rape culture” that is on college campuses across the nation. The authors reference other colleges having their issues with sexual assault such as Notre Dame, University of Kansas, and University of Tennessee. The book states in a chapter titled One in Five that it was not until 2012 that colleges started to notice the issue sexual assault on campuses, which started the trend of what most people know as a “rape culture."

For people who don’t go to your school, it can be difficult to hear them speak poorly of it. From reading "Violated," I’ve learned that Baylor wasn’t perfect in its past and won’t be in the future. Baylor has its flaws and struggles, just like every other college.

Understanding the past of Baylor and sexual assaults across college campuses helps to get a grasp on the situation that Baylor found themselves in important. When you don’t know the facts, it makes it difficult to defend yourself against people who judge the university. In a way, it’s a good thing that this happened to Baylor. Being in the spotlight, having a Big 12 Conference football team is awesome, but at a point, it starts to go to our heads.

All universities have their time in the spotlight and until they’re not; they all have their highs and lows. Baylor is an incredible institution that will bounce back from the struggles it has gone through. All schools have their issues and scandals, and going through those struggles does one thing for all; it makes them better.